Local’s daughter makes it out of Cairo

CourtesyFormer Auburn resident Jess Steinmetz is currently stranded in Cairo and is trying to find a way out of the city. Her mother, Jonna Steinmetz, a Greenwood resident, said she's been in contact with the U.S. Department of State and put her daughter and her friend on the travel list. Jess Steinmetz is pictured here in Wuxi, China in May.

A former Auburn student who was stranded in Egypt’s capital city during major civil upheaval has made it to safer ground.
Jess Steinmetz, 23, told her mother, Greenwood resident Jonna Steinmetz, over the phone early Tuesday morning that she is safe in Dahab, Egypt.
Jonna Steinmetz said her daughter and her friend traveled by bus to get out of Cairo, which has been virtually shut down due to hundreds of thousands of protestors flooding the streets.
“The bus ride from Cairo took about nine hours and they had to go through about 12 checkpoints,” Jonna Steinmetz said Tuesday.
Jonna Steinmetz said Dahab is considered a tourist town and there is currently no rioting going on there.
Jonna Steinmetz said her daughter is assessing her situation and figuring out how and where to travel to next to ultimately make it back to China where she is a teacher and administrator at an international school.
Jess Steinmetz, who attended St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Auburn until 2000, told her mother that news of what’s going on in Egypt isn’t completely accurate.
“She said that not all the information we are receiving about the situation in Cairo is accurate or true,” Jonna Steinmetz said.
But news of Jess Steinmetz’s well-being was good for Jonna Steinmetz.
“I talked to her for a long time and she sounds great,” Jonna Steinmetz said. “She wanted to let me know she is safe and will contact me in a few days.”
Reach Jenifer Gee at jeniferg@goldcountrymedia.com.